


Approval

by Caedmon



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Romance, this is nothing but fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-05-14 03:10:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5727496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caedmon/pseuds/Caedmon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose overhears the Doctor and her mum discussing something important in the kitchen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Approval

**Author's Note:**

  * For [goingtothetardis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goingtothetardis/gifts).



> From a prompt on tumblr: _'things you said that I wasn't meant to hear'_
> 
> I own nothing, of course. The BBC owns it all.

Rose stirred, swimming up from sleep. It was quiet...too quiet. She paused, mid-stretch, when she realized something wasn’t right.

First, she wasn’t in her bed on the TARDIS, which explained the lack of the comforting hum in the back of her mind. Blinking and rubbing her eyes, she looked around. _Ah. Yes, of course._ They were staying at her mum’s flat for Rose’s birthday today. 

The second odd thing was the lack of Doctor beside her. On the TARDIS, it wouldn’t be unusual for him to get up and wander while she slept, but when they visited with her mum he usually stayed put until she woke up, so he didn’t have to face Jackie alone. 

But Rose was currently by herself in her old bed. The Doctor’s jacket and tie were thrown across the chair in the corner and his trainers sat neatly beside it, so he’d not left the flat. She was a bit surprised he’d left the bedroom dressed so casually. Where on Earth could he be? 

She imagined the Doctor and her mum trying to decide on what to watch on telly, or worse, the Doctor being made to watch the chat shows her mum watched every morning. The thought of the look on his face sent her into a little fit of giggles.

The giggles prompted the knowledge that she really, _really_ needed to pee. 

Rose rolled out of bed and pulled some pajama pants up over her knickers, then put on a dressing gown. Tying the knot at the waist, she opened the door slowly, wanting to hear if the Doctor was groaning in agony while the TV prattled on. 

Nothing.

Shrugging, she started towards the loo. Then the Doctor’s voice coming from the kitchen stopped her.

“I mean, obviously, Jackie, your approval is very important to us. Well, it is to me, I imagine Rose will feel the same, but I can’t speak for her. Although I speak for Rose when we go to certain planets, places she’s not allowed to talk. Not that there’s many of those, mind, we tend to avoid the fiercely patriarchal societies and a lot of times she has to speak for me, when we land somewhere fairly... _amazonian_. I like for Rose to be as free and empowered as possible. She’s got spunk and spirit and I love that fire about her, you know? Actually, I love _everything_ about her. Which brings me back to my point…”

“You have a point?” Jackie asked.

Rose bit back a laugh and tiptoed closer to the kitchen. He'd finally told her he loved her shortly after they began their romantic relationship a couple of months ago, but she never tired of hearing it. Besides, this was him talking to her _mother_ , and that could only be amusing. 

“Well, yes, I’m coming to that. As I was saying, I love everything about Rose. I love how clever she is, even when she’s outsmarting me. I love the way she never backs down when she believes in something. I love her smile, and the way it always makes me feel better. I love the way she just seems to sparkle when she walks into any room. I love the way her skin feels-”

“Alright,” Jackie said, and Rose could see her mum, in her mind's eye, holding up a hand to stop the Oncoming Babble. “That’s enough. I don’t need to hear about hanky panky between you and my daughter.”

“Er, quite right. Point is, Rose is always taking care of me. She’s a saint, Jackie, an absolute saint. Better than a saint, an angel. An angel of love and mercy and -”

“ _Doctor_! Will you please get to the point?”

“ _IwanttomarryRose_ ,” he said in a rush. Rose covered her mouth to stifle her gasp and leaned against the wall for support.

“Excuse me?” Jackie said, giving voice to Rose’s shock and disbelief.

“I, um, I want to marry Rose. It’s her birthday and I figured it was a bit symbolic...on the day that celebrates her life she could start a new chapter of her life. Only if she wants to,” he rushed to reassure Jackie. Rose could almost see him tugging his ear, and happy, excited tears welled in her eyes. 

“I bought a ring and everything,” he went on. “Want to see?”

Jackie must have simply nodded because there was no sound for a couple of minutes, until she spoke. “Blimey, Doctor. That’s a helluva ring.”

“You think she’ll like it?”

“I do. But didn’t you say you were going to ask my permission?”

“Um, yes. Yes, I did. I would...can I? Can I marry Rose? I promise I’ll take care of her and cherish her every day for the rest of her life. And I’ll be the best son-in-law you ever had. Not that you’ve ever had one, or would have more after I marry Rose, it’d just be me. You’d be stuck with me, Jackie, but I promise not to be rubbish. Well, to do the best I can not to be rubbish.”

Rose wiped her eyes and sniffed before she thought about it, then covered her face with both hands, leaving only her wide eyes free. There was no sound from the kitchen, only the scraping of chairs on the linoleum. Rose panicked, trying to decide whether to hide or go in to face them. Before she could consider it too much, the Doctor appeared around the corner, poking his head out at her with Jackie just behind him.

“How much did you hear?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

Rose let her hands slip from her mouth and nose just a little. In a statement that was almost a question, she said from behind her fingers, “All of it?”

The Doctor’s shoulders sagged a little and he stepped into the hall. “Bloody hell, Rose. I was going to take you somewhere lovely. Somewhere special. Didn’t want to do it in the hall of your mum’s flat.”

Rose hurried to reassure him, “You still can! I’ll go with you anywhere you want to go.”

“Nah,” he said, “too late for that.” He took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck, his version of a nervous tic.

“Um, well, there are millions of things I could say right now. Billions, really. Every culture has their own tradition and, well, if you consider that there are usually at least two or three distinct cultures for each planet... Just think about how differently each country does things here, Rose! There are trillions of things I could say to you right now. Lots and lots…”

“Oh get on with it!” Jackie groused from behind him.

“Right,” he said, then dropped to his knee before Rose. “Rose Marion Tyler, be my wife?”


End file.
